Category: Interview

Imagista: Ok, so how about we talk about “Orange” first and then get into some other topics? How does it feel now that “Orange” is wrapped, to say goodbye to that chapter of your life?

Taylor Schilling: You know, it feels enlivening. There’s a surreal nature to be involved in something that has had a profound impact on a large number of people. I think I have a better perspective on the scope of “Orange” now than I ever have. I feel a tremendous amount of gratitude. I think that’s how I feel. It feels ready to be over, from my perspective. I’m not a creator on the show but in my capacity as an actor it feels like it was a really good run. And it feels really exciting, and the world feels different. It feels exciting to be able to see the horizon again. For seven years the rhythm of one’s life was around the TV show. We’d have six months to eight months in production and then six to eight months off. So there was this built in rhythm.

So it’s so wild and exciting now to just be able to see the horizon. It feels like the possibilities are limitless again. It’s very exciting.

New interview of Taylor Schilling for ‘Orange Is The New Black’ season 7

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After seven wonderful seasons, ‘Orange Is the New Black’ , the most popular Netflix series ever, finally came to an end at the end of July. The doors of the popular women’s prison Litchfield fell for the very last time in the lock, meaning that actress Taylor Schilling had to say goodbye to her character Piper Chapman and her orange outfit. Please note: the odd person who has not seen the first six seasons will bump into spoilers.

Taylor Schilling «I started my career with a series of flops. For my first film I was allowed to go on the set with Meryl Streep , but the project was canceled. I then played in the NBC series ‘Mercy’, but he only sung it for one season. The many scenes that I played as Ben Affleck’s wife in ‘Argo’ were almost all cut in the editing room. You understand that I started ‘Orange Is the New Black’ with low expectations (laughs).

»I am grateful for the many fans who have supported us for seven seasons. It has changed our lives forever, and I hope the series of politicians has made us aware of the flaws in the American prison system. ”

– How was the very last day on the set?
Schilling «Bittersweet. It was also Laura ‘s last day ( Prepon , who plays Alex Vause, ed.). We started the series together and completed them together. I will miss the cast enormously. We all agreed so well. We laughed and danced during the recording, some rap battles have even taken place.
»But at the same time it was high time to close this story. I am excited to start something new. I look forward to having a blank agenda and to fill it in with new challenges. I am taking acting lessons again and in the meantime I am looking forward to an exciting project. »

– In the seventh season, Piper is no longer behind bars. She tries to pick up her life outside the prison again, but that is not going smoothly.Schilling «I have spoken with various female ex-prisoners about their return to society. They told me how overwhelming it was to suddenly be free again. One of them was unable to leave her own bedroom for days: she only felt safe in a closed room. It is not because you are released that you are actually free. Piper has difficulty adjusting. But she also learned something from her time in prison: she finally stands up for herself. »

– Piper married Alex at the end of the sixth season. But Piper is free and Alex is still stuck. Is there a bright future ahead of them?Schilling «That’s the question the series asks in the last season: how strong can love be? I think Alex is the one for Piper, but does she feel that way? »

You shared your audition story [Prepon first read for the role of Piper before creator Jenji Kohan tailored Alex for her]. During your chemistry read with Taylor Schilling (watch here), they said the match was made. What do you remember?

As soon as I met Taylor, I totally got it. Such a wonderful actress who has this softness to her, but also through the years, you really lean into her strength. She was just perfect for Piper. Then as soon as we worked together, we knew this was going to be great. And you can only hope for that type of thing to happen. It’s rare — I’m telling you, it’s rare. After having the good fortune to do this for over 20 years, it’s rare when you have those moments of that special connection and we have that.

JEN EUSTON, CASTING DIRECTOR People were passing. That first season was a lot of begging. Nobody knew what this was. Piper was the hardest role to cast. Jenji said she needed a unicorn and I had nobody. I was looking for Piper the entire pilot and didn’t end up casting her until two weeks before.

HERRMANN We met with Katie Holmes and Kate Hudson.

EUSTON I had been tracking Taylor Schilling the whole time we were reading people but she was on vacation. I finally got her in and sent her best readings to Jenji. I said, “I found her.” And Jenji said, “You did.” [Editor’s note: Taylor Schilling was not available for interviews and did not respond to emailed questions before publication.]

HERRMANN There was a naturalism to Taylor that is undeniable. And the match was made during the chemistry read between Laura Prepon and Taylor.

LAURA PREPON (ALEX VAUSE) A lot of the girls read for other characters. When I read Alex, I was like, “This makes way more sense.” When Taylor and I read together, it was that X-factor you can never explain. When I left I thought, “That was awesome and special.” I got the call and moved to New York three days later.

New interview of Taylor Schilling with Mercury and new still from OITNB season 7

From Mercury

After seven years on Orange Is the New Black, Taylor Schilling’s Piper Chapman is adjusting to life on the outside. And she’s finding it more problematic than she’d imagined.

“The show changed all of our lives tremendously,” Schilling says. “It’s so wild to look back on these last seven years. I’ve done some movies [Take Me, The Titan] and plays in between the seasons, but to have this be definitely over is such a ripe moment to move forward in different ways.”
With so much riding on the finale of such a popular show, Schilling is confident its end features suitably high-quality writing, given its past six Writers Guild nominations and a Primetime Emmy nod for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. “When I read the last script, I just felt such intense gratitude that it was so good,” she says, breathing a sigh of relief. “I was so happy that it was so good. I was reading it and just being like, ‘Oh my God!’ So happy. I love the finale which I feel is powerful for Piper and I feel like it’s some of the more interesting work that Piper has done, that I have done, on that show for a while.”

Jenji Kohan’s groundbreaking dramedy Orange Is the New Black began with Piper Chapman’s (Taylor Schilling) imprisonment, and its seventh — and final — season finds her readjusting to life on the outside.

“She’s beginning to navigate what it’s like to live in the civilian world again, and learning that freedom doesn’t come immediately when she steps outside of prison,” Schilling tells EW. “She becomes a little bit bolder expressing what she wants rather than trying to fit in and make it about other people.”

One of the challenges Piper faces in the new season is being separated from Alex (Laura Prepon), whom she married at the end of season 6 before her release. “That’s really what gets dealt with in the season. I think that ends up being what is explored most,” says Schilling. “Piper really realizes that Alex is fundamentally a part of her journey. That’s the choice that Piper is making, that Alex’s love is very important to her.”

As the Netflix series reaches the end of its sentence, Schilling hopes season 7 helps “people feel seen, and that there’s a reflection in the series of what has been happening to the cultural collective.”